Zone 2 Ready to Handle Code Compliance, Browning Says

A plan to switch code enforcement from the city Planning Department to the Atlanta Police Department drew scrutiny Tuesday night at the monthly NPU-B meeting.

Zone 2 Commander Maj. Robert Browning assured NPU member Bill Bozarth that the zone has sufficient expertise and resources to handle code compliance, now carried out by the Office of Code Compliance.

"There'll be a learning curve, but not much," Browning said. "I don't think it will take away from our patrols at all."

Browning said Zone 2's force already has officers well-versed in enforcing code violations such as overgrown yards,  trash-strewn property and houses in disrepair. The APD's community police program, COPS, is involved in code enforcement.

City planner Jessica Lavandier told the NPU that the Atlanta City Council will hold a public hearing Nov. 28 on the proposal, described as an ordinance to "reorganize the Office of Code Compliance in the city of Atlanta Police Department."

In other action in a relatively calm meeting, Richard Rauh of the Atlanta Planning Advisory Board said APAB support appears strong for a $3,500 grant for the NPU to develop a Web site.

NPU Chairperson Sally Silver said the grant would come from $100,000 for NPUs set aside in Mayor Kasim Reed's budget.

Silver said she envisions "a template Web site that other NPUs can use." The Web site would include NPU documents and be "somewhat interactive so that people can ask questions and post comments," she said.

The NPU approved the Safety Committee's decisions to approve two new businesses and OK an expansion at an existing one.

The new Stagecoach at 34 Irby Ave. received the committee's 7-0-0 approval with the conditions that it provide the NPU with a parking diagram and show proof that the parking arrangement is part of the lease agreement with the property owner.

The Ivy at 3717 Roswell Road received approval for adding a bar and event room upstairs, and the new E. Paces Ferry Tavern at 322 E. Paces Ferry Road also gained an unanimous OK.